Improvement in hot-air furnaces



UNITED SrArEs PATENT orrrcn DAVID B. MORRIS, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN HOT-AIR FURNACES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 146,089, dated December 30, 1873 application filed April 1, 1873.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, DAVID B. MORRIS, of Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Furnaces for Heating Buildings, of which the following is a specification:

I My invention relates to that class of furnaceheaters in which the heated air is diffused through the building as the means of warmth and ventilation and the improvements which I have made therein consist in the outer dome of terra-cotta sections, and with a separate crown, having their edges tongued and grooved to hold them securely in place, and yet allow of the easy and convenient removal for cleaning out, or for repairs of the furnace, of their ready replacement, and to lessen the expense in the construction of the furnace. The crownsection being especially removable, with the smoke and hot-air pipes, without interfering with the side sections, affords very convenient means for keeping the pipes clean andfree without disturbing any other parts of the furnace, and each section of the dome beingheld in place by their tongued and grooved joints, obtains thereby material advantages over the usual fixed and expensive work also, in the arrangement of the inner semi-oval-shaped iron dome, and the outer'terra-cotta domes, and of waterreservoirs upon the top surface of the gratebed, whereby compactness and economy of construction are obtained, and the water-reser' voir placed upon the inclosed grate-bed on either side of the fire-chamber, and directly within and at the base of the'open hot-air chamber, for collecting the dust which settles at the base of the domes, and purifies the air (supplied to the rooms) by the steam which rises and surrounds the cold-air inlets at the base of the furnace; also, in the'arrangement of the air-inlet pipes and the pipes connecting the side waterreservoirs in a recess on the bed of the fire-chamber, to utilize the heat of the recess upon both the water-pipe and the cold air at a point where the heat is greatest, and rendering the connection of the parts with the furnace compact and convenient for the purose. p In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a side elevation of a furnace-heater tal section at the line where the domes join the bed of the fm-nace.

Within a fomidation of masonry, A, the grate B and ash-pit G are arranged within the central portion thereof, each providedwith suitable inner and outer doors at the front end,

and with the sides of the fire-chamber D made to curve or flare outward to a level with the bed A. A semi-oval-shaped iron dome, E, is fitted over and upon the bed of: the fire-chamber D, and is providedwith a gas-exit flue, F, arranged preferably near the front end there of. This cover joins the front wall, and is fitted with a door. Surrounding this iron dome E, I arrange a dome, G, constructed of terracotta tile, or sections, and forming between the two domes a hot-air-supply chamber, H, which covers the inclosed surface of the bed, and extends entirely between the two domes. The sections or tile-pieces a are j oined by ton gueand-groove joints b, and are surrounded by a crown or cap plate, I, of the samematerial, so that the weight of these tile-pieces holds them in place. The crown or,cap plate I is made separate from the tile sections, supported upon the curved ends thereof, and provided with any suitable number of apertures, J, communicating with the hot air chamber H, and through which the hot air passes to the several flues leading to the different rooms of the building. The flue F for the escape of the products of combustion also passes through this capplate. The dome G and cap I of sectional or tile-pieces, being of terracotta or other earthy material, serves to retain the heat within the hot-air chamber, and to afford great facility for separation to clean out said chamber when required, and besides forms a cheap and durable heating construction with the furnace.

'The cold air is supplied to the heating-chamber by pipes K K entering at the rear of the base, and opening into a recess, L, communicating with the chamber between the domes,

within which it circulates and is heated. Suitable dampers may be used to regulate the inflow of the cold air. Upon the foundation or furnace bed A I arrange one or more reservoirs, M, for water opening into the surround iug heating-chamber. They may be on either side of the fire-chamber D, or in the rear thereof but I prefer the arrangement shown, and their open water-surfaces must beexposed to contact with the heated air in the inclosed chamber, the object being to heat the water therein by the heat of refraction from the hot air and the fire-chamber to produce sufficient steam-vapor to moisten the hot air passing into the rooms, and also to collect any dust which may be drawn into the chamber with the cold an.

The water is fed into the reservoirs from the usual house water-pipes by means of a pipe, N, connecting therewith, and with the reservoir and the waste-water passed off by means of a pipe, 0, the inflow and exit being regulated so as to maintain a fresh supply in the reservoir at all times. As shown, the two reservoirs employed are joined together by a pipe, P, arranged in a recess in the rear of the firechamber, and the hot water passes from one reservoir into the other through this uniting pipe, which, being always more or less hot, serves to heat the incoming air.

When one reservoir for water is used, the wastepipe therefrom may be arranged in any suitable way so as to keep the water pure.

' The products of combustion are confined to the fire-chamber and nothing passes through the heating-fines but atmospheric air freed from its dryness and dust by the evaporation of the hot water within the air-supplying chamber. The flues leading from the crown-plate to the fines of the building are of terra-cotta to avoid all danger incident to iron flues.

The heater is of a construction which enables me to erect it during the erection of the building for which it is intended, and when so erected it serves to heat the building, and enables the workmen, in severe weather, to continue and finish the interior of the building, such as plastering and stucco -work, which could not be otherwise carried on.

The terracotta sections are cast of aform and size that will admit of their ready and proper arrangement with the separate crown slab, and to produce closely-fitting joints.

Having described my invention, I claim- 1. In a heating-furnace for buildings, the sections a and the crown I of the outer dome G, joined and united together by ton gue-andgroove joints 1), in the manner and to obtain the advantages stated.

2. The outer dome Gr, the inner iron dome E, and the reservoir M, located and arranged directly upon the top of the grate-bed A, and in the relation therewith and with the hot-air chamber H, as shown and specified, and to obtain the advantages stated.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses this 29th day of March, A. D. 1873.

DAVID B. MORRIS.

Witnesses:

J N0. W. PALMER, Geo. W. Mormrs. I 

